Legal Cannabis And the Youth – Stoner Blog
Marijuana is becoming more widely accepted but of course, there are still many obstacles that the legalization movement faces. One of the most popular arguments against the plant is that if cannabis is legal, the younger people will be smoking more. Since it’s always important for the youth to be as knowledgeable as possible, smoking cannabis before the age of 18 can prevent myelin formation in the brain, therefore leaving the brain more susceptible to damage. Does this argument have any ground to stand on, however? Or is this just another scare tactic to keep people away from smoking?
Marijuana may be taking steps towards being legal but that doesn’t mean that twelve year olds are going out and getting high. While the number of kids that are smoking cigarettes decreasing, the number of kids using cannabis has remained steady. The issue with the children using the plant is more so the fact that they aren’t taught the right things in school. What do kids like to do? The opposite of what they’re told. Anyone who’s been around a young kid knows this. So by saying “Don’t do this, it’s against the rules”, the adults have made marijuana far more appealing because it’s now “dangerous”. If kids were taught that marijuana is a good thing but that they should probably wait to use it, cannabis use in children may even decrease, with the exception of those who need it by the advice of a doctor.
Teaching kids about cannabis when they’re young ensures that they know what the plant is about. Being truthful about it is important and by now, it seems like the stoner parents talking to their kids about their medicine is more common then parents telling their kids about the Devil’s Lettuce. Things are definitely changing and more children know that the plant is helpful rather than harmful. We can’t forget the sick kids who are using cannabis to combat cancer and epilepsy. Without cannabis, these kids would be on harmful pharmaceutical drugs that could damage their development far more than cannabis could.
Just because the plant becomes legal doesn’t men that children are going to rush right out and smoke a ton of it. Alcohol is illegal, yet kids still manage to drink it. The forbidden is always more appealing, especially to children. By making marijuana seem less thrilling and more like a medicine that people use to help better their lives, it’s believed that cannabis use in the youth would decrease. The important thing is to make sure that they’re educated the right way.
